Phase-sensitive avalanche quantum sensing of sub-shot-noise fields

Abstract

Avalanche-based detection of small perturbations is commonplace in precision measurement devices from Geiger counters to single-photon avalanche detectors. Here, we expand this principle to sensing of light waves below the quantum shot noise limit, demonstrating numerically how atomic clouds trapped in photonic cavities can exhibit non-perturbative sensitivity to changes in the cavity field when the cavity mode is tuned to a parity-prohibited transition. We find that, when pumped by a continuous-wave laser, the atomic cloud creates emissions which amplify the initially sub-shot-noise fluctuation by two orders of magnitude. Crucially, this amplification is broadly tunable with respect to frequency and independent of atomic energy structure. Even more strikingly, our amplification mechanism preserves the phase imparted on the atoms by the original ultra-weak light wave, marking a qualitative improvement over conventional protocols. Our finding has implications for both quantum state characterization and detection of weak classical signals.